This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
As it is known, the acoustic stethoscope is an indispensable device used to perform the most important part of the medical examination: the auscultation, such as the auscultation of the heart, of the lungs, of the abdomen, of the various arteries, etc. This device is also required for the measurement of blood pressure by means of manual sphygmomanometer, commonly used by patients or healthcare professionals. The stethoscope is provided at one end with a membrane that detects the higher frequency sound waves, sometimes placed side by side to a bell that detects the sound waves at a lower frequency; the central part of the stethoscope is an Y shaped flexible tube by means of which the sound waves, once detected, are modified and transmitted to the human ear by means of two ear tips located at the other end of the stethoscope and resting on the auricle of the listener, as described in the paper “Comparison of the acoustic properties of six popular stethoscopes”, Abella M, Formolo J, Penney D G published in J. Acoust Soc Am. 1992 April; 91(4 Pt 1):2224-8. Hence the whole stethoscope influences the sound heard by the user, so that also sound features are often specific of the brand and the model of the stethoscope, that necessarily builds loyalty in the user to use only a specific model of stethoscope.
Even if not very much used, digital stethoscopes are commercially known. These stethoscopes replace the conventional stethoscopes and are able to amplify and/or to send the sounds to electronic devices, or to computers. For example, an electronic stethoscope is produced by the Littmann company, the stethoscopes market leader. This instrument is expensive and produces a type of sound different in respect of the sound known by the medical staff. Moreover, being this device powered by battery, it stops to work if the batteries are discharged and this is a problem in case of a medical emergency, so it is necessary to have a traditional stethoscope available.
A first solution known in the state of the art is described in the Chinese patent application for utility model CN202960564, which describes a modified stethoscope, that uses the wireless technology to transmit the data detected to a displaying device.
A second known solution is described in the patent application KR2013022141, which describes a modified stethoscope, functionally connected a smartphone, that includes a microphone and a conversion means for transforming the sound waves, receipt by the microphone, into an electric signal.
A third solution is described in the Chinese patent application for utility model CN203138540, which describes a modified cell phone operating also as a stethoscope.
A fourth solution is described in the international patent application WO2006090964, which describes a modified cell phone allowing the electrical connection to a modified stethoscope.
Finally, a fifth solution is described in the patent application CN202821420 which concerns a modified stethoscope with a microphone placed in the bell and a wire which runs in the tubes of the stethoscope and which connects the microphone to a speaker placed in an eartip of the stethoscope.
Also, a modified stethoscope (StethoCloud) able to interface with the headphone plug of common mobile phones appeared on the market for a short period.
However, those known solutions neither permit the transformation of the sounds detected by a traditional non modified stethoscope into digital data, nor send those data to electronic instruments, such as headphones, computer or smart-phones. The known solutions don't allow to use instrumentation already possessed by patients or by health personnel, allowing to listen for the usual sound by those who use a stethoscope having the sound references specific for the various human pathologies.
A device for digitizing the sound of a stethoscope and sending it to an electronic instrument, equipped with slots for stethoscope olives, is disclosed in the patent application WO2015/094426A1.
Furthermore, the patent application WO03/063707A1 describes a device for digitalizing the sound of a stethoscope, but it cannot be connected to the olives or to the Y shaped tube of the stethoscope at any time. Instead, the connection to do the measurement is realized by means of the tube of the stethoscope, below the Y-shaped portion, or by means of the stethoscope membrane.
Finally, the patent application CN103932732A describes a stethoscope including in its Y shaped portion, both in use and at rest, an element to digitalize and transmit sound and further comprising an additional and separate pocket for storing the membrane portion when not in use.
None of the cited prior art documents, however, provides or suggest in any way, a system which allows to easily carry the device for digitizing the sound of a stethoscope together with the stethoscope, at the same time protecting the membrane, when not in use.